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AJS members and others may be interested in the upcoming National Judicial College’s Spring 2023 Jackson Lecture on Monday, April 17, 2023, 11:00 am Pacific.

The lecture will be presented by Judge M. Margaret McKeown, an ex-officio member of the AJS Board of Directors and an active member of AJS for many years. She presented the closing remarks at the AJS 2021 National Conference. Judge McKeown’s presentation, “Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of Justice William O. Douglas,” is based on her recently published book. 

The presentation will be available online, free of charge, but registration is required. Please click this link for more information and to register.

AJS members Judge M. Margaret McKeown and Judge Susan Oki Mollway put their writing talents to work and have published books that might interest you. Judge McKeown currently serves as an ex-officio member of the AJS Board of Directors, while Judge Mollway previously served as Assistant Secretary of AJS. They were both speakers at the 2021 AJS National Conference. Congratulations to Judges McKeown and Mollway on their published works!

Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of Justice William O. Douglas is the title of Judge McKeown’s book, which spotlights William O. Douglas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Douglas still maintains the record as the longest serving Justice on the Court, having served from 1939-75. As Judge McKeown noted in the video presentation about her book, Justice Douglas was larger than life and her book tells why so many trees are still standing today as well as the back story of Justice Douglas as a citizen justice. Justice Douglas’ enduring legacy is what he did for our environment.

The First Fifteen: How Asian American Women Became Federal Judges is the name of the book written by Judge Mollway. Judge Mollway was the first Asian American woman to receive a lifetime appointment in 1998 as a federal judge. The book chronicles the stories of Asian American women who were appointed as federal judges after her. The idea for the book grew out of Judge Mollway’s thesis for her Master of Law studies at Duke University. She said the topic for her thesis had to be something that would hold her interest and spur her to complete the project, especially since the writing was done in the evenings after working at her “day job.”  Since the chosen topic involved herself and others that she knew, she was confident it was the path to take.

Christmas arrived early for AJS! Lawrence S. Okinaga, AJS Chairman, made a special announcement at the AJS Annual Meeting and Program on December 8, 2022 at the Pacific Club. The Okinaga Ohana Fund, which includes himself, his wife Carolyn, and his daughters Carrie, Caryn, and Laurie, is pledging $100,000 to AJS. AJS will receive $25k this year, with the remainder of the donation to be provided to AJS over the subsequent three years.

AJS remains near and dear to Chairman Okinaga, as he was instrumental in keeping AJS alive when the organization ceased national operations and Hawaii became its new home base in 2014. As AJS relies on contributions from its members, he hopes his act of giving will spur others to also support AJS financially.

The donation from the Okinaga Ohana Fund has no stipulations attached so the funds can be used for AJS operations and whatever else may be needed. As AJS continues to look for ways to supplement membership dues income, this donation will allow AJS to strengthen its programming and other infrastructure services.

Chairman Okinaga said, “We continue to appreciate the diverse work and contributions of all the members of AJS, whose strong commitment and assistance are necessary to AJS’s success. Financing AJS and its future plans and goals are critical to its success.”

AJS extends its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Okinaga Ohana Fund for its generosity and support to ensure AJS continues to thrive.